Just when you think you've heard all of the impossibly fun and infectiously funky music that Brazil can possibly be capable of producing, that country lets loose with another genius. In a perfect reflection of the cut-and-paste cultural and ethnic stew from which he emerged,
DJ Dolores (yes, it's a he) makes music that draws equally from the folk and urban sounds of his native Recife, the rhythms of Africa and Jamaica, and breakbeats and samples from all over the place. With a live and lively horn section, a brilliantly rough-and-ready vocalist named Isaar, and other bits and pieces of local talent picked up along the way,
DJ Dolores has created a brilliantly colorful tapestry of beats, tunes, and textures that will make the most sedentary couch potato get up, kick off his shoes, and dance around the room with fruit on his or her head. You could write an essay about almost every track here: the New Orleans-flavored horns and chugging drums on "Salvo!"; the reggae bassline, melodica, jungle breaks, and sampled shreds of French on "Prece" (probably the strongest track on this consistently wonderful album); the lurchingly funky "Azougue" (which is reprised in remix form at the end of the program); the lightly fidgeting breakbeats and cool understated guitar and violin on "Rouen." But why read (or write) about this album when you could be dancing to it? ~ Rick Anderson